Chapter 8: The Woman in the Photograph
I dropped the photograph.
It landed face-up on the concrete.
Marcus stared at it.
“That's your mother?””
I couldn't answer.
Vanessa stepped closer.
Her eyes widened.
“No.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
The family friend whispered, “She wasn't supposed to be in that picture.””
I picked it up again.
My mother stood beside my father.
Her hand rested on his shoulder.
She was smiling.
Not the stiff smile from old family albums.
A real smile.
A secret smile.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written a date.
Three months before the car accident that supposedly killed her.
I looked at Daniel.
“My mother died when I was six.””
He said nothing.
“Didn't she?””
Vanessa's face had gone pale.
“Maya…”
I turned on her.
“Didn't she?””
Vanessa looked at Daniel.
He shook his head.
“Don't.””
I stepped closer.
“Tell me.””
The family friend spoke first.
“She survived.””
The room seemed to disappear around me.
“What?””
“Your mother survived the accident.””
My fingers tightened around the photograph.
“Then where is she?””
Nobody answered.
Marcus looked at the family friend.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“And you let Maya believe her mother was dead?””
“I was trying to protect her.””
Marcus's voice became cold.
“From what?””
The man looked at me.
“From the same people who are upstairs right now.””
I shook my head.
“This makes no sense.””
He pointed toward the black box.
“Open it.””
I lifted the lid.
Inside were documents, photographs, bank records, and a small digital recorder.
My father's handwriting covered the top page.
*For Maya.*
My vision blurred.
I picked it up.
Marcus stood beside me.
“Play it.””
I pressed the button.
Static.
Then my father's voice.
“Maya, if you're hearing this, you're old enough to know what really happened.””
I stopped breathing.
“I lied to you about your mother.””
Vanessa began crying.
My father's voice continued.
“She didn't die in the accident.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She covered her mouth.
“She was forced to disappear after discovering what my business partners were doing.””
The family friend lowered his head.
My father continued.
“I tried to protect her. I failed.””
The recording crackled.
“Daniel knows where she is.””
I looked at Daniel.
He was staring at the floor.
“You promised you'd tell her,” my father's voice said.
Daniel whispered, “I couldn't.””
I stopped the recording.
“You knew where my mother was?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“I don't know if she's still alive.””
My heart shattered.
“You knew for twenty years.””
“I was protecting you.””
“You stole my mother from me.””
“No.””
“You lied to me.””
“I had no choice.””
“You always had a choice.””
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“I made the wrong one.””
The family friend suddenly grabbed the black box.
Marcus caught him.
“Don't.””
“Give it to me.””
“No.””
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain.””
The man looked at me.
“That recording can't leave this room.””
“Why?””
“Because it names everyone.””
I looked at the documents.
“Everyone involved?””
He nodded.
“Politicians. Bankers. Lawyers. Police officers.””
My stomach turned.
“My father was going to expose them.””
“Yes.””
“And they killed him.””
“Yes.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“And she was helping them.””
Vanessa shook her head violently.
“I was trying to save you.””
“You pushed me into a pool.””
“I was told they would take you if I didn't.””
“Who?””
She began crying.
“The person who contacted me.””
“Who?””
She opened her mouth.
A gunshot exploded upstairs.
Everyone jumped.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Marcus immediately pulled me down.
Another shot.
Then another.
Vanessa screamed.
Daniel shouted, “They're searching the house!””
The family friend grabbed the recorder.
“There's another exit.””
“Where?”” Marcus asked.
He pointed behind the shelves.
“Through there.””
Marcus shoved the shelf aside.
A narrow tunnel appeared.
We rushed toward it.
Then my father's recording suddenly restarted.
None of us had touched it.
His voice filled the vault.
“One more thing, Maya.””
We stopped.
The recording continued.
“If Daniel tells you your mother is dead, don't believe him.””
Daniel went rigid.
My father's voice became quieter.
“Because the last person I saw with her was Daniel.””
I turned slowly.
Daniel's face had collapsed.
“Tell me,” I whispered.
He didn't answer.
May you like
Then the vault door slammed shut behind us.
And from the other side, someone locked it.
